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"What did you think of yesterday's podcast?" she asked, seeming genuinely curious.
"Tragic," I decided on, knowing almost every case a true crime content creator covered ended in some tragedy or another.
"Well, let's hope not. We have to stay hopeful," she said, shaking her head. "I feel so bad for her kids," she added.
It didn't take too much thinking to figure she was talking about that missing woman, Shelley Shannon. She must have just covered the case.
"Yeah, I can't imagine."
"Are you close with your mother?"
"I don't have any family," I admitted.
"Oh," she said, caught off-guard. "Well, that sucks," she decided, making a strange, surprised, choking laugh escape me. "What's your name?"
"Finn," I supplied. "I'd offer my hand, but yours are full."
"Always with the essentials. Coffee. And something to seriously injure a man with," she declared, smirking.
"Always smart," I agreed.
"So, Finn. What is your favorite unsolved mystery?"
"Is Jack the Ripper a lame answer?" I asked.
"Yes, but also understandable. I keep waiting for the day when someone answers with something they are genuinely curious about, not a textbook answer. Like, you know, who killed Tupac and Biggie."
"Wasn't that a rap feud?"
"Well, yeah. But who pulled the triggers? How have they kept completely quiet about it for all this time? Are they ever going to have it come out, maybe after their own deaths? I can understand why we will likely never know about Jack the Ripper, or even countless recent murders and disappearances. But the fact that it was such a huge deal, and to such big stars, and we still have no idea? That's enough to drive someone crazy trying to figure it out."
"Have you made any progress?"
"What? No. I'm not actually looking into it."
"Then why..."
"To prove a point," she cut me off. "So, Finn, you have that creepy, stalkery, haven't-slept-in-a-week look going on. Are you stalking me?"
"Because we live in the same town and like the same coffee?" I shot back, choosing not to directly answer. I wasn't exactly practiced in the art of telling lies. That was a specialty that belonged to other team members. You know, the ones who actually dealt with people. Aside from my coworkers, this was the most I'd spoken to another human being in months. Hell, maybe even years. "Were you paranoid before true crime, or are you paranoid because of true crime?" I asked, trying to get her mind onto something else.
To that, she let out a snort.
"I'm paranoid because I am a woman in modern society."
"Well, that's fair."
"So, Finn, are you coming to the Murder Mystery party Tuesday?"
"I wouldn't miss it."
"Then why haven't I seen you there before?"
"Because I am just learning about it now," I admitted.
"How? I ramble about it on my social media constantly."
"I don't have it."
"Have what?"
"Social media."
"You're serious?" she asked, brows furrowing.
"I am."
"Why?"
"I don't see the worth."
"You are an interesting character, Finn. Well, if you can figure out the details about the party, I will see you there. Hopefully, you aren't the killer."
With that, she fell into step with a passing couple before crossing the street, and getting on with her day. Likely forgetting all about me.
While I went ahead and found myself obsessing about her.
I even did the unthinkable.
I signed up for social media, so I could figure out what this party was about, where it was being held, what it entailed.
Then I did something even more unthinkable.
I waited for Tuesday.
And then I went to the goddamn party.
To spend time with the woman who wanted to get me locked up for crimes she thought I'd committed.
Crime Time with Poppy
"Hello, my beautiful, creepy people. This is Poppy—your friendly, local true crime peddler—and this is Crime Time with Poppy. This is obviously not our usual scheduled program. But I wanted to keep you up-to-date with the ongoing Shelley Shannon case as it unfolds.
"We left off with nothing but a shaky timeline of events, a missing mom, and seemingly no one in the world who would want to hurt her.
"As of recording this today, there has been no evidence found in the home of foul play, and no arrests have been made.
"Investigators have been tearing apart Shelley's life in the week leading up to her disappearance, trying to piece together any clues as to what may have led to her going missing.
"As previously reported, Shelley had an active life. With three later teenaged children who are busy actively filling their own social calendar, Shelley had been enjoying a lot more free time than being a mom of three younger children had allowed.
"On the Monday before her disappearance, Shelley had lunch with her sisters at a restaurant in town. They said she had plans to go and look at a duplex she was thinking of buying as an investment property after that. Shelley's real estate agent confirmed that Shelley viewed the house, but concluded there was too much money that needed to sink into the units before they could be put up for rent. That night she went to her daughters' gymnastics practice.
